Whitmer Urges Halt of High School Classes, Youth Sports
As the number of COVID-19 cases soars across the state, Michigan officials are asking for a two-week pause for in-person high school instruction, youth sports and indoor dining.
Instead of implementing restrictions in the face of a third wave of COVID-19, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is asking for people to make smart decisions.
Speaking at a news conference Friday, Whitmer says the state needs to work through their COVID-19 restriction fatigue.
“Policy change alone won’t change the tide, we need everyone to step up. And to take personal responsibility here,” she says.
“I’m calling on high schools to voluntarily go remote for two weeks past spring break, calling on youth sports to voluntary suspend games and practices for two weeks. And I’m strongly encouraging all Michiganders to avoid dining indoors and avoid gathering with friends indoors for two weeks.” –Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
Whitmer and the state health department are asking residents to voluntarily avoid indoor dining for two weeks and for high schools to go to online instruction for the same amount of time. Both have been sources of outbreaks. Outbreaks in the state are largely driven by people under the age of 30.
“I’m calling on high schools to voluntarily go remote for two weeks past spring break, calling on youth sports to voluntary suspend games and practices for two weeks. And I’m strongly encouraging all Michiganders to avoid dining indoors and avoid gathering with friends indoors for two weeks,” she says.
All three have been driving community spread across the state — combining to more than 400 new and ongoing outbreaks.
As of Thursday, Michigan had the worst rate of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. over the previous two weeks. Related hospitalizations had more than quadrupled in a month and were 88% of the statewide peak from a year ago, leading some hospitals to postpone non-emergency surgeries. The seven-day average of new daily deaths has been rising for two weeks.
“Because we are seeing so many cases a day, our public health system is overwhelmed,” says Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state’s chief medical executive. “We are not able to get information on many cases, nor are we able to identify their close contacts.”
The governor has resisted reinstating past restrictions such as a stay-at-home order or bans on indoor dining, in-person instruction and youth contact sports that were criticized by Republican lawmakers and others. A mask requirement remains, as do capacity limits and caps on gathering sizes.
But she did not rule out future restrictions, saying nothing is off the table.
“At this point, we think it’s important that people understand how very serious this moment is,” she says.
More Resources From Federal Government, But No Increase in Doses
Whitmer says vaccinations are the best way to fight this latest surge in infections.
The Biden Administration says it’s going send federal resources to support vaccinations, testing and therapeutics — but there will be no increase in vaccine doses like Whitmer had requested.
She had called for the federal government to provide a surge of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson inoculation to help curb the dramatic rise in new infections.
Khaldun says the state is getting its maximum vaccination allotment.
“We actually met with the White House team [Thursday] and walked through our entire ordering strategy and when we ordered what and when somebody is very clear, and they agree with us that we are ordering all of the vaccines that are available to us,” she says.
Whitmer says she made her case to the federal government to implement a “surge strategy” to flood the state with vaccinations to slow this latest wave of infections. She says the Biden administration made the wrong decision by not sending more vaccines.
“We are going to continue to fight for additional vaccines. That is not a policy that they have embraced at this juncture. But we are going to continue to fight for our state,” she says.
Michigan will surpass 5 million COVID-19 immunizations administered Friday.
Related: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer tries a new script to combat COVID-19.
Mixed Reaction From Schools
Whitmer says there will be some schools and residents that do not adhere to recommendations. Because of that, the state health department will issue guidance strongly encouraging high schools that stick with in-person classes to enroll in the state’s free, rapid COVID-19 testing program.
Whitmer’s recommendation to temporarily close high schools received mixed reaction in education circles.
The Michigan Education Association, the state’s biggest teachers union, encouraged similar action for lower grades, community colleges and universities. But the Great Lakes Education Project, a group with ties to the DeVos family, said kids deserve “safely open classrooms.” Superintendents also appeared frustrated.
“Educators have been focused on doing what is best for our students’ learning and social growth. We’ve relied on health experts to guide us on the safest way to do that and any shift from that or expectation that educators alone can make those decisions in not the right approach,” said Robert McCann, executive director of the K-12 Alliance of Michigan, a coalition of superintendents.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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